A file is a complete, named collection of information, such as program, a set of data used by a program, or a user-created document. Files are typically structured into folders residing on computer disk drives. Files and folders are generally organized in a hierarchical namespace and provide users and applications with a consistent and efficient way to access and manage these files and folders. A namespace can be viewed as a single tree-structured hierarchy. To access a namespace file, the file must first be identified. One way to identify a file is to use a path, which is a route followed by the operating system through the directories in finding, sorting, and retrieving files on a disk. For example, an object may have a name, such as “MyFile.htm.” Because there might be other files with that name elsewhere in the namespace, the file can be uniquely identified by using an address, such as “C./MyDocs/MyFile.htm” or “http://MyDocs/MyFile.htm”.
Suppose a source file “MyFile.htm” at the address “http://MyDocs/” needs to also appear at another address, such as “http://HisDocs/” Conventionally, the source file “MyFile.htm” would be copied from the address “http://MyDocs/” and pasted to the address “http://HisDocs/” The copied file then has no further relationship to the source file. If changes were to be made to the source file, the copied file cannot be updated because of the lack of ongoing relationship between the source file and the copied file. Conventional copying works fine if all that is wanted is a static file. The problem arises when a static file is not desired, but instead, a dynamic file that can be updated or can inform appropriate users of the copied file of changes.
One conventional technique to add dynamism to copied files is the use of symbolic links, which are area directory entries that take the place of directory entries of a copied file but are actually references to source files in different directories. Thus, using a symbolic link, the copied file “MyFile.htm” at the address “http://HisDocs/” actually references the file “MyFile.htm” at the address “http://MyDocs/” This works very well if a single namespace exists containing the addresses to both the source file and the copied file. But in cases where the source file may reside in a namespace that is different from the namespace containing the copied file, the use of symbolic links will not work.